Valentine's Day
by LightWoman
Summary: It's February 14th - does that mean that love is in the air?


A Valentine's fic… had to be done! Oh and for the purposes of my story, February 14th doesn't fall on a Sunday ;-) Happy Valentine's Day everyone, whether you're in a relationship at the moment or not :-]

**Disclaimer: Totally not mine**

_February 14th_

Gillian walked towards Cal's office, smiling as she heard the song 'Love is in the air' coming out of the radio in the lab.

"Good morning," she breezed, and he responded with a grunt.

"Why so grumpy, Cal? It's Valentine's Day." She smiled at him brightly.

"And?"

"And love is in the air." She laughed at the look on his face. "Romance, Cal. It's about romance."

"No it bloody isn't."

She sat down opposite him. "And why's that?"

"Because a piece of card doesn't say I love you. A bunch of flowers on the one day of the year when a man is _expected _to buy flowers doesn't show how he really feels. You know what Valentine's Day is, Foster? It's 'easy money from suckers' day for the card companies, the chocolatiers, the restaurants and everyone else who tries to cash in on the ridiculous notion that you only need to prove your love to someone one day a year."

"Is that so?"

"Absolutely. There are 365 days in a year. Why should only one of them be about saying I love you? If you're in love, you should show it every day."

A slow smile spread across her face. "So you _are _a romantic."

"Don't go saying that in public." He winked at her. "I just don't see why people have to get all ga-ga on February 14th, like it's any different from any other day." He shrugged.

"So you won't be sending any cards this year?" she teased.

"Nope. It's commercial exploitation, pure and simple. All it does is take advantage of men who are guilted into buying tacky cards and flowers and gives women a chance to show off how much they are loved – when of course, it shows no such thing."

Gillian smiled, clearly amused. "So if a girl receives a dozen roses on Valentine's Day, that doesn't prove her boyfriend loves her?"

"No. All it does is prove that he's followed the crowd and the rules dictated to him by society. Would he have bought the flowers if the rest of the world wasn't doing it? Probably not. And what does that tell you? I'd much rather be shown by someone who loves me how they feel on any other day of the year, and show them how I feel on any other day too – every day, actually – rather than the one day when everyone does it just because it's what you're _supposed to do_."

"Perhaps you're right," she agreed. "When you put it like that…"

"Of course I'm right." He grinned at her. "Crikey. Can't believe I actually managed to convince the most romantic, soppy woman I know that Valentine's Day is a load of bull. _That _took some doing."

"I'm not _soppy_." She poked her tongue out at him. "But I agree, it's nice to be shown by someone that they love you in a spontaneous gesture, rather than because they feel they ought to."

"Exactly." The phone on his desk started ringing, and Cal snatched it up. Gillian smiled at him as she wordlessly stood up and walked out of his office. He gave her a small wave as she left, then turned his attention back to his phone conversation.

Gillian strolled down the corridor, and saw Heidi cooing in delight over a large bunch of flowers that had just been delivered to her. "They're beautiful," Gillian told her.

"Thanks!" Heidi grinned. "Dan is _such _a romantic." She lovingly stroked one of the flower petals.

Gillian smiled to herself as she walked towards her office.

_February 17__th_

Gillian had arrived at work early; there was a lot to get through that day. As she walked into her office, she stopped in surprise at the bouquet of flowers on her desk. Tulips. Her favourite. Next to the flowers was a pot of chocolate pudding with a small card laying on top of it.

She quickly ripped the envelope open, feeling warmth spread through her body as she opened the card and read the note inside.

_I love you. Come out to dinner with me tonight. I'll pick you up at 8. Cal x_

Gillian smiled. She'd known when she and Cal finally took the next step in their relationship four months ago that she was in for a few surprises along the way, but he still never failed to amaze and delight her. She propped the card up on her desk and tore off the lid of the chocolate pudding, delving into her desk drawer for the spoon she always kept in there. Cal was right – you didn't need to just prove your love to someone on one day of the year. Since they'd become a proper couple, he had proved his love for her every day in a thousand different ways, and it only made her love him more. _And I'll prove it to him_, she thought, popping the first mouthful of chocolate pudding into her mouth. _When he least expects it, I'll prove it._


End file.
